Planooraph co



F. l. DU PONT.

EXPLOSWE CHARGE FOR THE CENTRAL TUBES 0F SHRAPNEL SHELLS.

APPLICATION map MAY 2. 1.91s.

1 308,345. I Patented July 1, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET la I I I I I I I I I I 1 r r r r r I r a I 1 I 1 z I I II I I I,

Mrmsss: #mewroa ITTORWEK THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0" WASHINGTON. D. c.

F. I. DU PONT.

EXPLOSIVE CHARGE FOR THE CENTRAL TUBES 0F SHRAPNEL SHELLS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2. I916.

' MVfA TOR ILF'Q'IZCIS'Z 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented J 111371, 1919.

w/rzvsss:

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

STATES OFFICE.

[FRANCIS I. nu roNT, or wILMINe N, DELAw RE, ASSIGNOR To B LL G AINEXPLO- sIvEs COMPANY, or WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OFDELAWARE.

ExrtosrvE CHARGE 'FoR THE CENTRAL TUBES or sHRArNEL-sHELLs.

To all whom it may concern: I Be it known that I, FRANCIS I. on PoN acitizen of the United States, residing at Wilmington; county of NewCastle, and

"State of Delaware, have invented a new and useful Improvement inExplosive Charges for the Central Tubes of Shrapnel-Shells, of which thefollowing-is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification.

The connection between the time fuse of a shrapnelshell and the burstingcharge is "generally aseries of short cylindersof com.-

pressed black powder. Each of these cylinders has a hole extendingaxially therethrough. The object of thisarrangement is Ito produce thequickest possible transmission H o fire from h ti f in the head of the iI l hraplielshell; iS sta in motion infthe with powder resulting fromthe crushing'of the rear 'pelletsgandcauses variation in time ofexplosionof thisshell.

I I "The practical way'in which this worksout is that there being-eightcylinders or pel- V, lets? "(asthey are called) and these being"necessarily'a somewhat loose fit in'the central tube of the shell, itis nearly impossible to avoid having the cylinders nearest the "burstingcharge crushed, in theact of firing the shell from the gun, by theaccelerating force actingagainstthe inertia of the pellets ahead ofthem. This plugs the central tube I have discovered a certain way inwhich this can be prevented and by whichthelaccuracy sought by thismethod of connecting the time. fusewith'the bursting, charge of "theshrapnel shell-may be fully realized.

"making my improved powder charge the powder is pressedinto 'a, tubetobe in U serted intothe central tube of the. shell, in s same way'that ahole is left in the center f l g m t the entire leng h of theconnectjlonf Specification of Letters Patent.

curs, it does not operate to reduce Patented July 1, 1919.

Application filed May2,'1916. Seria1No.94,947.

i In this way the powder is so well supported in the tube that it cannotbe removed by .a pressure greater than that which it must sustainwhen'the shell is fired from the gun.

Preferably, the solid powder, having a moisturecontent of about threeper cent., is miX-edwitha liquid having no solvent or chemical actionupon the powder, and immisciblewith water, preferably gasolene or aliquid of similar properties, and the mix- 'ture is tamped into athin-metal cylinder,

thereby not only consolidating the'powder but also causing the largervolume of the gasolene to exude, and then drying thepowder, at anelevated temperature, in the cylinder to drive off the gasolene andmoisture.

-In the drying operation it might be supposed, from the action of othermaterial under similar conditions, that the powder charge would shrinkso that its diameter would bereduced su'fliciently to cause it to bereadily slipped from the mold. If this would occur, it would produce aunitary "charge having some real advantage over the present charge of anumber of short pellets, but it would not accomplish the main object ofthe present invention. As a matter of fact, it is found that if anyshrinka e 0cthe diameter of the charge, but on the contrary the powdercharge, after the drying operation, is found to be so tightly packedwithin the container as to resist ejection. By utilizing the tubularcontainer with the charge packed therein as a substitute for the stringof separately formed pellets, the objects and advantages of my inventionare attained.

' In carrying out the process formanufacturing my improved charge Iutilize preferably an apparatus constructed in accordance with theaccompanying drawings, in

which lower and main part ofthe, apparatus. Fig.

4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the finished product. Fig. 5 is asectional view of the charge applied to ashrapnel shell.

The explosive powder, together with gasolene, is laced in a'tank (1containing a revoluble stlrrer 6, whereby the powder may I within thecentral tube of a shrapnel shell and connecting the time fuse 12 withthe v bursting charge 13 as hereinbefore described.

Havin now fully described my invention, what I c aim and desire toprotect by Let- 'ters Patent is 1. In a shrapnel shell, the combinationwith the central tube, of a unitary longitudinally perforated powdercharge within and extending substantially throughout the length of thetube.

r 2. In a shrapnel shell, the combination with the central tubeconnecting the time .fuse and bursting charge, of a charge comprising arigid tubular container within and extending substantially the length ofthe tube and a unitary longitudinally perforated powder charge packedtightly within and v extending substantially the length of thecontainer.

3. In a shrapnel shell, the combination with the central tube connectingthe time fuse and bursting charge, of a charge comprisin a rigid tubularcontainer within and exten ing substantially the length of the tube anda longitudinally perforated powder charge within the container in suchrelation thereto as to resist crushing in the act of firing the shellfrom the gun.

4. In a shrapnel shell, the combination with the central tube, of aunitary longitudinally perforated powder charge extending through saidtube approximately the entire distance between the fuse and the burstingcharge and a container inclosing FRANCIS I. DU PONT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

